I love the energy we bring to the start of the school year. Everything is new again and we all get to start fresh. This is the beginning of my fifth year as President of Lehman; and I see this Fall as the start of a crucial new phase for the future of Lehman. 

We’ve all accomplished a lot these past four years; to list just a few:  

• Our School of Business offers the only public college Business program in The Bronx and Westchester.  

• The new Nursing Education, Research, and Practice Center, puts us on course to train thousands of new nurses and tackle health inequities across the area.  

• Our academic programs continue to expand and grow, with many more degrees available fully online or hybrid. Some of those newer programs include a Bachelor of Science degree in Data Science and AI, a Master of Science in Health Service Administration, and a Doctoral Program in Human Performance and Fitness.  

Everything we’ve done is aimed at giving students access to infinite possibilities; to succeed in areas they may have never thought possible. We are a national leader in social mobility and will continue to raise up our community.  

One other area of growth in the last four years was in our endowment. A $30 million dollar gift from the MacKenzie Scott Foundation supercharged our ability to support students with scholarships and resources.  

Thinking about the next four years, we are not satisfied with just one major gift. Lehman College is moving Forever Forward, with a first-of-its-kind fundraising campaign. You will hear more about this transformational project and what it means for students in the coming weeks.

Lehman is also the first senior CUNY college to be part of CUNYBeyond, a signature program from Chancellor Matos Rodríguez that ties every stage of the academic journey to skills and practical information so our graduates can move seamlessly into a career. CUNYBeyond will launch in stages, and ultimately will encompass everything from inside the classroom, to advisement, to internships.  

Coming out of COVID was not easy, but Lehman has had an impressive last four years. Just wait until you see the next four.  

Fernando Delgado, Ph.D.  

President